Latest Results

Manchester Frontrunners enter many races throughout the year both in and around Manchester, below are the latest results. (updated weekly)

If any race you have done does not appear on the MFR results page, please email details of your result (the web link is useful) to Steve at competition@manchesterfrontrunners.org and if eligible it will be added to the results page and PBs updated as appropriate.

All PBs are times that athletes have run whilst members of MFR. They may have run faster before joining, but we own their ass now. The figure in brackets after a PB indicates how much time they have shaved off their previous time.

The weather at the weekend was perfect for a spot of racing,
and a number of MFR were out doing just that. It’s great to see so many of you
searching out new events and going a little ‘off piste’, in Pete’s words!

Amy was back in her home county of Lincolnshire to run the
St Valentine’s 30km. There were apparently one or two hills, but seemingly nothing
that a bit of positive thinking (and a bit of swearing) couldn’t overcome. Well
done on completing it in 02:34:05!

Pete was also back on home turf to run the Wrexham Village
Bakery Half Marathon, joined by Jane and Jacqui. Jane mentioned that the course
was surprisingly nicer than she expected and that the toilets were ‘luxury’ –
what more could a runner want? And by the looks of things, everyone seemed
happy with their haul of Welsh Cakes. Special mention to Jacqui for setting a
new PB in 1:35:39.

James H, Emma and Kate all ran the Stockport Trail Half. Kate commented
that it was ‘not too hot, not cold, and sunny’ – perfect!

Lastly, Joe and Paul were over in Balckpool for the Great North West Half
Marathon. I hope it wasn’t too windy on the coast…

Remember, let me know if you’ve up to something off the radar so I can include
you!

This past weekend’s racing was dominated by cross country, with the fifth and final match in the Manchester Area Cross Country League taking place on Saturday at University Playing Fields/Kenworthy Woods. This event, more than any other in the season, was well and truly a whole team event, which saw many of you run, marshal and support.

The stars of the show were undoubtedly our fantastic volunteers – James M, Jono, Rachel, John L, James S, Kate, Darren and Tess! Between them they helped set up the course (starting at 8am!) and manned a number of marshal points right through from 11am to the end of the day. This event did not have an official club host and couldn’t have gone ahead without the support of the volunteers. Thank you, volunteer points will be coming your way!

For the race itself, the ladies – all 11 of them – had a great turn out. Jacqui, Amy, Jane, Rachel, Alex, Linda, Paula, Kate, Ruth, Emma and Claire took part, meaning we had two teams coming 12th and 33rd out of 50.

10 took part in the men’s race, including Martin, Steve H, Jono, Rob, Chris, Paul, James F, Andrew, Joe J, Dan with the team coming 33rd out of 50. It was also Chris Benn’s first very XC race – well done Chris, hope you’ll be back for more next season! Lastly, thank you to Ed and Greig (and Liam the dog) for coming along to cheer us on and take pictures. If you aren’t running for whatever reason, you’re more than welcome to come along and watch at races, those running always appreciate support from the side lines!

In other racing news, Pete was down in London racing the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park half Marathon, completing the course in 01:33:44. It looked a little soggy, but he still had a smile on his face!

Back on Sunday 3rd January Joe and Paul took on the Aintree Half, galloping across the finish line in 1:40:33 and 1:45:17 respectively! Results below:

Last Sunday 10 MFR took part in the Helsby Four Villages half marathon. By all accounts everyone had a lovely morning, even if it was a little more ‘undulating’ than some were counting on. At least the last mile was downhill, right? James, Jono, Steve H, Nick, Steve W, Alex, Amy, Billy, Darren and Emma took part, and a special shout out goes to Alex this week for taking 6 mins off her PB, running in 1:4251. Well done to everyone 🙂 Results below:

We kicked off the January racing calendar on Saturday with the fourth Cross Country match at Heaton Park. It was a bit chilly and slightly windy but we all soon warmed up!

Both the men and ladies fielded two teams, the men’s teams came 24th and 57th out of 64 and the ladies came 20th and 41st out of 63.

Well done to Jacqui, Rachel, Jane, Amy, Alex, Paula, Kate, Mel, Melisa, James, Martin, Greg, Jono, Steve H, Thomas, Dave, Jordan, Ed, Steve W, Paul, Nico and Andrew for taking part. Rob also started in the men’s race but sadly had to drop out due to injury, we’re wishing you a speedy recovery!

A big thank you to Steve M, Darren and Joe who came along to support and also to Jordan for his Instagram skills in capturing the start of the ladies’ race in slow motion – if you haven’t already, check out the new MFR Instagram at ‘manchesterfrontrunners’.

On Sunday Daniel E and Julie took on a faster and slightly flatter course at the Tatton Park 10k. In Daniel’s own words is was ‘damp, cold and mildly undulating’ – well done!

Congratulations on making it to the end of the first working week back after the Christmas break! Whilst it may have been a shock to the system for a lot of us, some of our fellow runners didn’t ease up or let the festivities get in the way of their racing.

On Boxing Day Lucy took part in the Chevin Chase in Yorkshire – a favourite of Lucy’s (and the Brownlee brothers), the course is hilly and mixed terrain. A little further south, Dave took on one of the oldest races in the country, the Chester Round the Walls. At 4.7 miles it’s not a conventional distance, and most probably a club record.

A few days later Rob, Linda, Nico and Claire headed up to Clitheroe to run the ever popular Ribble Valley 10k. Well done to all, in particular to Linda for taking 2nd place in her category! Rob commented that it was a well organised race with good conditions and course records set in both male and female categories. If you haven’t done it before, give it some thought for 2019.

Lastly many of you also took part in parkruns up and down the country. Darren continues to go from strength to strength setting parkrun PBs what seems like every week!

If I’ve missed a race you’ve done over Christmas, please let me know so you get the credit you deserve!

As we get closer to Christmas, the number of races taken part in seems to drop. However, last Saturday morning whilst some of us were resting ahead of the Christmas party, Rob and Linda headed up to the Forest of Bowland to take part in the Forest of Bowland Trail Half Marathon.

Linda crossed the line in 2:38:45 (21st overall and 4th woman) and Rob finished in 2:14:20 (6th overall and 5th man). By all accounts the race was tough due to the inclement weather, so much so that those competing in the full marathon had their race cut short when it was called off and mountain rescue sent in to pick up those still out on the course! Well done to Rob and Linda, a good show of MFR grit and determination.

We kicked off this weekend’s racing with more cross country, this time at the Greater Manchester Cross Country Championships at Boggart Hole Clough. I spoke too soon when I said last week that it looked like we’d escape any significant amount of mud this side of Christmas; it was very wet and very muddy. The course at Boggart is liked by many as it has it all; hills, mud and ditches, and it didn’t disappoint on Saturday. Well done to all who braved the weather, and thanks to Linda for the cakes!

Today the main event was the Stockport 10 mile – a firm favourite in the MFR race calendar and 13 of you journeyed down to Stockport early this morning. 6 of you ran the race (and the distance) for the first time, well done to Amy, Kunaal, Steve W, Laura, Darren and Alex. A big congratulations also to Billy who took nearly 7 minutes off his PB form last year!

In other news, Nick Markley jetted off to Malaga and ran the Malaga Marathon in an impressive 03:46!

Finally Tess, Claire and Rachel had some fun at the Winter Bible in the Park in Oldham dressed as Miss Piggy, the Little Mermaid and Kermit!

Last weekend we traveled down to Woodbank Park in Stockport for the third race in the Manchester Area Cross Country League, along with the new club gazebo. 22 of us donned our spikes, including Kunaal who ran his first cross country (and loved it)! The ladies’ teams came 17th and 38th out of 59, and the men’s 23rd and 49th out of 57. There was a great atmosphere and the support along the course really did help, especially the ladies cheering on the men at the top of the hill, perfectly captured in the video montage put together by Jane !

This race update starts with an apology; last week was a busy one and I forgot to give you a race update, but fear not, this week’s edition will be a double bill!

On the 18th November we had members racing in the Conwy Half Marathon and the 13 Arches Trail Half. In Conwy, Pete, Julie and Peter B enjoyed the Welsh sunshine and put in great performances. Up in north Manchester a small contingent consisting of Paula, Amy, Jacqui and James raced the 13 Arches Trail Half organised by Radcliffe AC and each had great success in their categories. James took the 1st V40 prize, Jacqui first V35, Amy 1st Senior and Paula a top 5 place in her category. A big well done to all, judging by the photos they were all very happy!

Last weekend we had two races; the Salford Women’s 5.25 mile and the Wilmslow Festive 10k. Jacqui battled with some familiar faces in Salford from last week’s 13 Arches, taking 12th place at the annual race organised by Swinton Running Club, despite having been at a dinner party the night before! In Wilmslow, James, Amy and Daniel got club PBs, and were joined on the course by Steve, Nick, Tom , Pete and Joe. Massive congratulations to all.

Finally, one of our members hit a significant running milestone on Saturday. Dave Chambers ran his 100th parkrun at Stretford, an achievement 7 years in the making! Jordan sourced balloons to celebrate the event which were presented to Dave by Run Director Foxy as he crossed the line. You’ve given us all something to aspire to, Dave!

We had a fantastic turn out for Cross Country at Kenworthy Woods at the weekend with 21 of us on the start line. The ladies fielded two teams coming 25th and 62nd out of 75 and the men’s team came 30th out of 68, in what was a very competitive race. Unfortunately there were a couple of injuries in the men’s camp on the day, fingers crossed for a speedy recovery! A big well done to Claire and Joe who ran their first ever XC races, I’m sure they’ll both be back for more. And lastly, special thanks to Steve and Edmund who came down to support, and to our honorary canine member, Jane’s dog, Queenie.

Whilst we’re on the subject of cross country, time is running out to enter the Greater Manchester Championships, held at Bogart Hole Clough on 08/12 and the Northern Championships, held at Pontefract Park on 23/01. And remember, this is the only chance you’ll get to run the course at Boggart this year as it is not part of the standard XC fixtures. If you’d like to enter either or both championship races, please get in touch with Jono by 23/11.

Lastly, keep an eye out for the event to the next MACCL XC match being held at Woodbank Park in Stockport on 01/12.

Continuing with the international theme from last week, our very own Jordan Millar ran (and most likely won) the New York marathon on Sunday in an impressive 3:55:10, despite getting distracted by a therapy dog at the start area.

In other news, Angelo ran the Tatton Park 10k on Saturday and had a great race! On Sunday morning James, Billy, Joe and Paul were at Tatton for the Half Marathon. I didn’t manage to get a picture of Paul and he seems to have successfully evaded all of the official photographers – sorry Paul!

Lastly, whilst not technically a race, our couch to 5k grads ran their first 5k at Stretford parkrun on Saturday. MFR took over the event, filling most of the volunteer roles, running alongside the group and cheering from the sidelines. Thank you to all involved, and well done to everyone running and racing.

New York Marathon (04/111/2018)
https://results.nyrr.org/event/M2018/finishers?_ga=2.138263280.1934891088.1541615226-1680903342.1541615226

This past weekend ‘aqua alta’ meant runners in the Venice marathon ended up with very soggy feet, and whilst MFR racers didn’t have to contend with any floods, the weather certainly gave Amy and Emma an extra challenge as they took on the Lausanne Half Marathon and 10k in Switzerland. It was -2 degrees and there was ice and snow on the ground, but both finished in very respectable times, bravo! Closer to home Rachel, Kate, Heather, Mel and Michael ran the Goyt Valley 10k – from what I can see in the pictures, it looked like an amazing race, take a look below. Lastly, and by no means least, Jacqui Baines woke up intending to run the Beachy Head 10k, but with only 3 hours until the start of the race she changed her mind and decided to run the marathon instead, well why not? Well done to all! Results below:

This past weekend was a little quieter on the racing front, but whilst many of you were taking a well deserved rest, Greg Beck snuck off to the Lakes to take part in the Langdale Marathon. It was his first marathon and it was hilly (c.1000m/3000ft of elevation), but despite this, all of his hard work and preparation paid off seeing him take 5th place in 03:18:05! Well done Greg!

What a weekend of racing we’ve had! Starting with the first Cross Country race of the season on Saturday, followed by the Manchester Half on Sunday. In addition Julie Virgin smashed her marathon PB at York, running an impressive 03:50:47, taking 03:41 off her previous time! Meanwhile Andrew Ferguson was representing at the Munich Half after missing out on last year’s trip to the Bavarian capital due to injury.

Cross country at Wythenshawe Park was well attended, despite many saving themselves for the Manchester Half. Our ladies team came 27/64 and the men 32/55. It was great to see Emma Burns and Edmund Woodfield taking part in their first cross country for MFR. Man of the match undoubtedly goes to Andrew Porter; after losing his shoe on the last lap he carried on valiantly, finish with shoe in hand!

The Manchester Half was a target race for many and it was great to see so many MFR members volunteering on the course, taking part and coming out for a celebratory drink in the afternoon. The stars of the show were Foxy’s cohort of volunteers who were up at an ungodly hour on Sunday morning to marshal and in turn raise funds for the club. 22 of you took part in the race, 7 PBs were set and 4 of you ran the distance for the first time as a Manchester Frontrunner!